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The Fourth Degree, or Secret Master, is the first
step into the inner sanctuary of the Spiritual Temple, where he who seeks, finds
Truth. In this Degree we are to learn the duty of obedience to law, not to the
edict of a tyrant, contrary to the law of God or nature, but the law that is
an expression of the will and judgement of the people and for the benefit of
the whole people.

The Fifth Degree, or Perfect Master, emphasizes
the two virtues, Industry and Honesty. The Master Khurum (Hiram) had both of
these virtues. Idleness, the great enemy of growth, whether mental or spiritual,
is the brewer of mischief and vice. "To sleep little, study much, say little,
think and hear much, to learn to do earnestly and vigorously whatever is required
by duty" are the precepts of the Mason who follows the Master. A Mason should
always be honest in his contracts, sincere in his statements, and keep all promises
and covenants even to his own disadvantage.

The Sixth Degree teaches us to be zealous, faithful,
disinterested and benevolent. No good Mason can be worldly, covetous or sensual,
but must be kind and affectionate, broadminded and charitable; keeping thoughts
only on the good and true, with a feeling of thankfulness for all favors rendered
and a sincere desire to do unto his Brother as he would wish done unto him.

The Seventh Degree, or Provost and Judge, has
for its chief lesson the great principle of justice. Those with the power of
judgement should judge impartially without any personal consideration, without
prejudice or preconception and without haste. Two kinds of injustice may be
done to a fellow-man: one where a man does an injury to another, the other where
he fails to avert an injury both by God and man, yet the consequences remain.
In judging a wrong we should remember the motive and temptation. Some men are
born with noble instincts, while others are less fortunate. Perhaps the man
who leads a clean life has never had the temptation which came to his fallen
brother; so we should judge with charity and pitying kindness.

The Eighth Degree, or Intendant of the Building,
impresses upon the candidate the futility of advancing unless the lessons already
taught have been carefully considered. The jurisprudence, learning and morality
of Masonry and not merely the work and ceremonies should have our most profound
thought and attention. We are seekers after Light and we shoul d consider the
earthly life of ours a field for noble action, the beginning of heaven and a
part of immortality. This Degree teaches us that we have high duties to perform
and a high destiny to fulfill on this Earth. We should love this Earth as the
garden on which the Creator has lavished such miracles of beauty, has made it
the dwelling place of the wise and the good, the place of opportunity for the
development of the noblest passions, the tenderest sympathies and the loftiest
virtues.

This Degree is consecrated to bravery, devotedness
and patriotism. Its duties are summed up in "Protect the oppressed against the
oppressor and devote yourself to the honor and interest of your country." Masonry
calls for active service in comforting the unfortunate and raising the degraded.
It requires initiates to work actively and earnestly for the benefit of their
brethren, their country and mankind. Most men have sentiment to the right, but
do the wrong. They may talk much of virtue but live little of it. They may even
talk much of wrongs but do little to eradicate them. He who fights against cruelty,
oppression, wrongs and abuse fights for his country's honor. Life is not measured
by days, but by the deeds we have done for our fellow man and our country. "Unselfish
and noble acts are the most radiant epochs in the biography of souls. When wrought
in earliest youth, they lie in the memory of age like the coral islands, green
and sunny, amidst the melancholy waste of ocean."

This Degree is devoted to religious and political
toleration and to the enlightenment of the mind of soul. Toleration holds that
every man has a right to his opinion, and liberally claims that no human being
can say he alone knows the Truth. Whatever a man sincerely and concientiously
believes is truth to him, and only through enlightenment and education are intolerance
and fanaticism put down. Masonry is not a religion, but is founded on the essential
truths of all religions; it is the universal morality underlying every creed.
A belief in the one true God and a moral and virtuous life are the only requirements
that Masonry promulgates as a necessity for membership.

The duties of this Degree are to be earnest,
true, reliable and sincere; to protect the people against illegal impositions;
and contend for their political rights. It is a Mason's duty to serve his Brothers,
not Masons alone, but all humanity. The safety of every free government depends
upon the integrity of the common people. The nation that bases its greatness
on tyranny over prostrate states, heavy and unjust taxation and crafty alliances
will find its empire tottering in ruins. Masonry should do all in its power
to protect the people, to better their living conditions and to supply their
needs. top

The human soul ever travels toward the Light
and God. It never loses the sense of its own powers, but there are many faculties
within us of which we are dimly conscious; to arouse that slumbering soul-consciousness
to the realization of Truth is the divinest object of all human helpfulness.
Masonry strives to develop these half-forgotten, God-given traits and to accept
them as their guide. Life is what each man makes of it; the optimist turns every
trial into a blessing, the pessimist sees only ruin and disaster. All our earthly
transactions and institutions are based on faith in our fellow-man. How much
more so must we believe in God. The belief in a Supreme Being is an instinct
in all races. No man can suffer and be patient, can struggle and conquer, can
improve and be happy without faith in a just, wise and beneficent God.

For centuries the Hebrews have been forbidden
to pronounce the sacred name of God and whenever it occured they have read the
name "Adonai" instead. The knowledge of the true pronunciation was supposed
to give to the possessor supernatural powers. This idea of the sanctity of the
Creator's name was common to all ancient nations. Among them the conception
of God varied according to their intellectual capacities; among the ignorant
He was invested with the lower attributes of humanity, among the spiritual He
was a Being, pure and holy. This knowledge of God, however, was not given out
the common people, but was kept secret by the favored few. The communication
of this knowledge of the true nature of the Creator, with other esoteric truths,
is what is now called Free Masonry, which under other names has existed since
the beginning of the human race.

This Degree, in fact, forms the climax of the
ineffable Masonry. It is the keystone of the Arch and discovers that which is
revealed in the succeeding of Degree of Perfection. It is a most important and
interesting grade, and so intimately connected with its successor as to appear
like a section of that Degree. The dark clouds and mists that have hitherto
veiled the sacred mysteries now begin to be dispelled; the glorious dawn illuminates
the East with its bright effulgence, and its rays penetrate into dark and hidden
places.

This Degree is the last of the Lodge of Perfection,
and we have reached the point where each individual Mason must discover the
secret of Masonry for himself. This can be done only upon reflection of its
symbols, and a wise consideration and analysis of what is said and done in the
work. Perfect Truth is unattainable, yet we must ever press on, more nearly
approaching it. We receive as much of the Divine Light as we are capable of
understanding. God has arranged His great purpose so that each man has a work
to do, a duty to perfom to help in the progress of the great plan for enlightenment
and growth. The Mason believes that the sorrows and trials of this life are
a part of the plan of God designed to purify and strengthen our souls. Surely
a wise and merciful God would not send these things upon His children without
some ultimate good resulting. On this life depends our future well-being, and
we should so live that death will have no terror for us, but will only be a
release from the earth to spiritual realms above.